welcome to nhk world "newsline." diplomats and negotiators working to secure a cease-fire in gaza have had another reminder of what's at stake. an explosion tore through a bus in tel aviv, injuring at least 15 people according to local media. it's the latest incident in an eight-day long conflict between israel and palestinian group hamas. the bus was traveling on a busy road in central tel aviv. associated press reports the explosion happened near israel's military headquarters. investigators are trying to

figure out what happened. they say there could have been more explosives on the bus. israeli government officials tell reuters this was a terrorist attack. the cease-fire negotiations between israel and hamas are believed to be entering their final stages, but whether it's bus bombings, air strikes or rocket attacks, fighting between the two sides have not let up. so far 140 palestinians and 5 israelis have been killed. egyptian officials are mediating the truce talks. a hamas representative tells nhk the palestinian group is pushing for israel to lift its economic blockade of gaza. the local media report israeli negotiators are willing to do that, but only once the cease-fire is in effect for a certain period of time. discussions are also reportedly under way about the possibility of getting egypt and the united states to establish a framework to monitor the truce. an israeli spokesperson has said his country wants talks to succeed.

he says it is still prepared to send soldiers into gaza. a top hamas military commander is warning israel it will pay a heavy price if it launches a ground operation. people on both sides have spent more than a week in fear of another attack. they see warplanes in the sky, hear missiles screeching overhead, and they worry their homes will be hit next. nhk world reports on civilians caught up in the fighting. >> reporter: a siren went off to warn of an incoming rocket. in the town in southern israel. people immediately duck for cover. more than 1,000 rockets have been launched from gaza in the past seven days and retaliation for israeli air strikes. the israeli army has developed a new anti-missile system. it has intercepted many attacks

but the area i can cover is limited. it's impossible to shoot down all the rockets. this is the house in israel directly hit by a rocket from gaza. the rocket hit the second floor, totally destroyed the living room, and then came down and exploded and blew up all the windows on the first floor. this man lived here with his wife and three children. around 10:30 at night, they heard the siren and rushed to the shelter in their home. all houses in israel have to be equipped with shelters. >> we went down, inside the room, we were five of us and we closed the door and we waited for about eight or ten seconds, and then was the first fall. >> no one in the family was hurt, but the rocket attacks have killed five people in israel.

he thinks the israeli forces will have to attack gaza to stop the rockets. >> doing something is something we have to do. not staying or waiting or trying or only talking. i think we should make it. >> the gaza strip in palestine suffered more serious damage. israeli attacks killed more than 130 civilians. this house was bombed by the israeli air strike on sunday. 11 people were killed. nine of them were women and children. >> translator: women and children were having a meal at home when the bomb hit. why did they have to be killed? the house was totally destroyed. it was a scene of carnage.

>> reporter: the search continues for anyone who remains missing. the israeli military says people linked to hamas lived in the house. the attack was criticized because many civilians were killed. israelis have begun an investigation. a funeral was held for the family. the following day. the mourners strongly criticized israel. >> translator: israel killed mothers and children. what did they do to deserve this? i want god's judgment. >> reporter: calls for retaliation are intensifying in israel and palestine, as the number of civilian casualties continues to rise. but an early cease-fire to put an end to the cycle of hatred is not yet in sight. nhk world, israel and the gaza strip.

eurozone finance minsters ended their all-night discussions. they failed to reach an agreement on providing extra funds for greece so they plan to meet again next monday. the ministers from the 17 eurozone countries began their meeting in brussels on tuesday afternoon local time. the talks focused on the additional bailout of over 31.5 billion euros. after over eleven hours the meeting ended without reaching a consensus. members couldn't agree on how greece could reduce the debts. the minsters skipped the news conference after the meeting. however euro group president jean-claude juncker told reporters that the talks are moving forward toward an agreement. he said members aim to work out more diets when they meet again on monday.

greece cleared the way to receive additional funds after the country's lawmakers passed extra austerity measures. however, greek government debts have ballooned to nearly 1.9 times the nation's gross domestic product. opinions over how to cut the debt differ among eurozone members. germany, for example, is reluctant to bear an additional burden. u.s. defense secretary leon panetta is urging congress to strike a deal before the end of the year. that's to avoid a fiscal cliff which may result in a significant reduction in defense spending. the fiscal cliff is a term used to illustrate drastic fiscal tightening if congress fails to reach an agreement by year's end. such a situation is feared to trigger a plunge in the economy. panetta warned that defense spending will be subject to drastic cuts if lawmakers failed to reach a consensus.

>> the worst thing that could happen from my perspective is that they just kick the can down the road. all that would wind up doing is continuing to present a shadow over the defense department and for that matter, the rest of government. >> the defense department is already planning to reduce its budget by about $500 billion over the coming ten years. panetta has voiced concern that further cuts could undermine barack obama's new defense strategy that lays more emphasis on the asia pacific region. japanese officials are scratching their heads about how to deal with sluggish trade. sales to foreign countries have plunged leaving japan in a trade deficit for the fourth straight month. finance ministry officials released preliminary figures shortly before the markets opened. the deficit came in at $6.7 billion. exports fell by 6.5% from a year earlier.

exports have fallen five months in a row. cars and steel led the drop and imports fell by 1.6% from a year earlier. exports to europe tumbled more than 20%. the debt crisis has dampened demand. exports to china fell more than 11%. consumers upset about the material -- territorial dispute are shying away from japanese goods. serieses say the settlement

body upheld most of the -- wto officials sent a final report to the parties involved. the document advises ontario to rer rectify the issue. the wto says the -- canadian officials may appeal the decision. tokyo stock exchange officials are calling on small businesses in south korea to list their shares on the tokyo boards. the tse made the promotion in a seminar in seoul on wednesday. the event was held by an organization that helps enterprises to raise funds and enter foreign markets. more than 200 south korean companies including those from the information technology sector took part. officials from the tse said investors in tokyo are interested in asian firms with growth potential, and listing their shares on the tokyo bourse would raise their profile and credibility. a tse executive said establishing good relations will be a key to boosting global standing.

>> translator: japan and south korea are neighboring countries and have strong business alliances. having said that, forging better ties with south korea is a big and important issue. on tuesday the tse retained approval to tie up with the osaka securities exchange. the move is set to attract funds from foreign firms. the tse was one of the top venues for listing but ever since the japanese economy slowed down, keeping up with global stock exchanges has been high on the agenda. as the meetings wrap up, leaders are reporting on progress on the issue. >> reporter: china held firm to

its position at is -- territorial disputes. at the end of the day, leaders were not able to agree on any concrete measures. the prime minister who chaired the asian summit says he's proud of the progress that leaders were able to make. he cited an agreement to start negotiations early this year to toward a comprehensive agreement which will include 16 nations. >> however the member countries and china failed to agree on the

launch of official negotiations for establishing the legally binding code of conduct regarding disputes. heated discussions prevailed on tuesday which included the united states. the closing statement of that summit does not specifically mention the south china sea, it only mentions that the participants reaffirm the importance of regional settlements of disputes. china strongly opposes any attempts to resolve the dispute involving parties involving the members. the summit's statement clearly reflects china's intentions as well as ingrowing influence in the region.

turning now to afghanistan, suicide bombers have targeted a heavily guardsed area in the capital of kabul. aur although the bombers were killed, the taliban is claiming responsibility. the international security forces are scheduled to end their combat mission in afghanistan by the end of 2014. this latest bombing is once again casting a shadow over the state of security in the country. two suicide bombers planned an attack on wednesday morning in the main diplomatic center in kabul. the area is home to the u.s. and british embassies. >> translator: they wanted to carry out a suicide bombing, but before doing so, they were killed by security forces. part of the explosives and the

body of one of the bombers was detonated when he was shot downidown. the rest of the explosives are still there. >> reuters says that the taliban has claimed responsibility for the attempted attack. the incident comes as foreign and afghan forces are tighteninging security around the capital ahead of the muslim holy day on saturday. the number of global aids related deaths is decreasing as medical technology advances, but people living with hiv still face discrimination. >> we are very proud that we agree to give us a voice. >> the campaign by the joint

united nations program on hiv is called zero disskrcrimination. experts estimate that 200,000 people in the country are hiv positive. she is an active supporter to eradicate aides and has visited facilities for patients. upon receiving the appointment, the politician said she would like to work with people who live on the fringes of society and struggle to maintain their basic human rights. thousands of people waiting to go home. tons of debris waiting for disposal. fast tracts of land waiting to be restored. overcoming the challenges of

japan's 2011 disaster won't be easy. but step by step, people are moving forward. find out how on "the road re ahead." a sophisticated four legged robot is poised to go where no one has gone before, inside the damageded reactors at fukushima daiichi. researchers at electronicsmaker toshiba developed the animal-like machine to help emergency workers know what they're dealing with inside the destroyed reactors. the radio controlled robot stands about one meter tall, has four centimeter long legs, six video cameras and a radiation detector. it can step over obstacles up to 40 centimeters high and climb up and down stairs. a small vehicle fitted with a camera can be unloaded from the top of the robot to roam tiny spaces like the undersides of pipes. toshiba officials say the machine can work for 300 days in a high radiation environment.

>> translator: we will improve machines by making it possible for multiple units to work together as one, and work as humans in places humans can't go. >> toshiba officials are proposing that tokyo electric power company, the operator of the fukushima plant, use the robot to research how to scrap the damaged reactors. decommissioning in the wake of the meltdown is expected to take 30 to 40 years. when disaster struck northeastern japan last year, thousands of people stepped forward to lend a hand. many were foreigners. but the language barriers to help with rebuilding were limited. one volunteer continues to bridge that gap. as nhk world's michihiko suzuki

reports. >> where are you from? >> america. california. >> the uk. london. >> i'm from canada. >> these volunteers have come from all over the world. they want to help tohoku. this ngo is making it possible. the group is called it's not just mud. today they are digging dirt. they have been asked by local people to make a memorial flower bed. the group is founded by jamie albanana. who was working as an english teacher in osaka and he quit his job and moved to ishinomaki. about 3,000 people in the city died there in the disaster. >> when i wanted to come, i couldn't find the information. for foreigners. i was with a lot of foreigners and none of them could speak japanese at all. so i was always translating for them, and speak to the homeowners or something, what do you want. i realized this is something i can do to kind of help foreigners.

>> albana arrived soon after the disaster, but he found it hard to get information about what he could do to help the survivors. local governments were unprepared for volunteers who weren't japanese. he began talking directly with people who needed help. removing wreckage or clearing out mud from underneath houses. he responded to any requests. this is the head quarters of "it's not just mud." it's a private house that has been left empty since the disaster. some members of the group have been living here for over a year. >> i love japan for many reasons and i've always wanted to come here. so i actually wanted to come ever since that day. >> reporter: so far, about 1,000 volunteers from 30 countries and territories have worked with the

group. there was one project that albana worked on particularly hard. >> over here is where we will put the playground for the children and also their parents and people to gather. it should be a nice, cool community. >> reporter: it began a year ago. after he noticed that children at temporary housing had nowhere to play. he got in touch with the u.s. company that makes playground equipment and asked them to donate some. the company agreed. shipping costs were covered by donations and the foreign volunteers did the installation work themselves. >> this long awaited playground equipment has been installed. on this day children living in temporary housing were invited

to a party to mark the occasion. >> translator: i'm looking forward to making friends to play with here. that will be fun. >> initially when i came, i felt that there was more that i could be doing, which others are not doing. i have a responsibility to stay and to finish what we're doing. of course, i can't -- like it's impossible for me to quit now. >> reporter: albanana says his group will continue for as long as there are non-japanese volunteers who want to contribute the time and effort. mikiko suzuki, nhk world, ishinomaki. a russian developer plans to build a hotel on one of the four russian-held islands off hokkaido that are claimed by japan. japanese officials say the plan is unacceptable.

the russian firm presented an idea at a meeting on tourism development in sakhalin province in the russian far east. the developers plan to build a hot spring resort for 100 guests by the end of 2015 on the island. if realized it would be the first such venture by a russian firm on the disputed islands. russia is stepping up efforts to develop tourism on the islands. the government has built a new airport and is organizing foreign sightseeing tours. japanese consular officials in yuzhno-sakhalinsk says russia may use tourism to gain greater control of the territory. there's a storm moving through the northwest u.s. for more on the weather here's meteorologist robert speta. >> yes, we've been watching the storm here in the pacific northwest. it's been bringing some very gusty winds and heavy rains. well now it's going to start to pull here towards the east off into the dakotas. some improving conditions in around washington and towards oregon. then into the dakotas, stuff

going downhill here. heavy rain, about five centimeters of snowfall accumulating. gusty winds, sometimes up to 90 kilometer per hour winds. ahead of that front, thick fog is being seen in the midwest. flights in and out of chicago, do check them out ahead of time because you're seeing some airport delays due to the fog. that's going to start to clear up, though, as that storm starts to push in from the east, improving the conditions here. but then going into thursday, around chicago, even much of the ohio river valley, expecting some rain showers. not going to be a big weather event, but if you have any plans in and around this area for thanksgiving, do check on them, because there is going to be some wet conditions outside. even some snow off towards southern canada. windy conditions in the central plains. take a look at this, sunny skies across much of the united states here, so good news for you here on your thursday, as conditions do remain rather ripe. and also, autumn-like temperatures here. new york with a high of 11. chicago getting up to 15. and denver, 21 here. winnipeg, you're the cold spot

on the map, only one degree here, just above the freezing mark going through your wednesday. take a look over towards eastern asia. specifically in japan here. you've been enjoying fair weather day here on wednesday, while on thursday, we have this cloud cover moving in from the west. already western japan starting to see some cloud cover moving in. eastern japan in and around tokyo, you could be seeing some rain going into thursday morning. expect it to lighten up, though, going into the afternoon hours. some improving conditions. but, along the frontal boundary here in southeastern china, another system will be developing off of it. that's what's going to move off here towards the east, and then going into japan on friday. it's a holiday here. but it's going to be a rather wet one, even some windy conditions and a separate storm system. you could see developing here in northeastern china. that's going to move towards the east. bringing some snow into hokkaido. actually sapporo near thursday going into friday expect some windy conditions, some heavy snowfall accumulating up from that storm system.

a messy one overall to start off the week. temperatures will be cooling off in northeastern china. beijing a high of 7. minus 10 in ulan bator. on the flip side of that, the tropics to the 30s going through your thursday. now into europe, though, across the northwest. one storm system after another has been pushing through here. into the uk. you actually are starting to see some improving conditions. this system moving away. but look at this monster coming in off the coastline here. that whole front is going to push onshore some severe gales, very well could be accompanying this and also some heavy rainfall throughout your day, on your thursday. but the rest of europe, looking rather decent. high pressure dominating. keeping things on the dry side here. experiencing some fog. meanwhile, to the balkans, over towards italy, you've been watching this storm system. good news, that is starting to dissipate. improving conditions across much of this region, as well. temperatures in the single digits towards the east. warsaw up to 5. on thursday, london at 12, and madrid getting up to 14 here on your thursday. now here's a look at your

extended forecast. # we'll be back with more updates in 30 minutes.

i'm gene otani in tokyo.